The Crimson Mercenaries
by CrimsonMercenary
Summary: After the death of Ike the Greil Mercenaries disband to go on their own adventures and Shinon leaves the Tellius region to explore a distant continent known as the Urian region. This is the tale of the Smart Mouth Sniper and his company known as the Crimson Mercenaries. Read and Review please!
1. Prologue

**A word from the Author: **_Hello everyone, this is a fiction dedicated to my favorite character in Fire Emblem, Shinon! I have yet to determine if this will be a short story or epic tale, but we will at least have one adventure for Shinon and the Crimson Mercenaries (Who will be my own OC's) I never played Radiant Dawn so any events that have happened in between that game and Path of Radiance...just assume they didn't...with that said, it shouldn't really matter much because in this story Shinon finds a new region to explore and find adventure in._

_As you know, I don't own Fire Emblem or Shinon. This is simply a fun story based off a very fun game! I treasure your opinions so please let me know via a review or message what you think! As we progress through the next few chapters the question I want you all to help me answer is "Should I keep this story going?" That's all for now, enjoy my short prologue!_

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**The Crimson Mercenaries**

**Prologue **

Ten years after the Greil Mercenaries saved the Telius region from the Daien threat their great leader, General Ike fell at the blades of twenty men on a mission to protect Crimea's capital. The mission was a success, but the mercenaries were never the same with the fall of their great leader. The Greil troops completed several smaller jobs after Ike's death, but eventually decided to part ways as they realized that their fearless leader was the glue that kept them all together. For many of the great warriors their time as a Greil Mercenary is just one chapter of their great life story. Some of these heroes have a story that involved fame, fortune, and much valor. For others, their book read of loss, tragedy, and despair. This is a tale of one of the mercenaries, as his life moved on past his time as a Greil Mercenary.

Shinon didn't much mourn the loss of General Ike. To be honest, he never liked the arrogant little pup. In the eyes of the Crimson Archer, as he was known throughout the land of Tellius, it was he who should have been named Commander of the mercenaries, not Ike. Ever since the death of Ike's father, the late Commander Greil, Shinon had always had issues with Ike. He had learned over the years to respect the boy's talent and strength and did appreciate the heroic death that came to Ike, but he wasn't at all about to pretend to care for the blue haired legend personally.

When the Mercenaries disbanded, Shinon decided it was time for him to leave Telius. Everywhere he went with in this region he would be known as the sniper who used to serve _under_ General Ike. Shinon's true dream was to be known throughout the world as the most powerful and dangerous warrior out there…not as the guy who served under a powerful and dangerous warrior. He knew that there was nothing left for him in Tellius, and so it was time to go.

The sniper didn't know where exactly he was going, but he boarded a boat whose captain said that he was going to the very distant Urian region. Shinon had never heard of this continent, but that only made it seem like a better place to go for the sniper. He wanted to restart his story as a mercenary and go from bottom to top again. This time, Shinon wasn't going to be just another follower of a great legend, he wanted to be the great legend.

Upon packing up all his equipment and carefully dodging any potential good byes his previous fellow mercenaries might have wanted to say to him, Shinon silently got aboard the boat and began his voyage to Urian.


	2. Voyage to the Unknown Land

**A Word from the Author:**_ Well, here it is, chapter 1! I hope you all enjoy the start of this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Special thanks to That Guy, ShiverIntheLight, and Gunlord for their encouraging reviews...it meant a lot! Sidenote to That Guy, and anybody else: I will take OC's if you choose to send them my way. Depending on who they are they could have small or big parts in the story, but feel free to send them to me if you want._

_As you all know, I don't own Fire Emblem or Shinon. With that said, I'll be introducing two OC's in this chapter so I hope you enjoy them :)_

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**Chapter 1**

**Voyage to the Unknown Land**

Shinon sat at the very back of the boat trying hard to avoid any human contact whatsoever as he casually drank his small bottle of ale, a Crimean souvenir he bought at the port he had just embarked from. The Crimson Archer wasn't the only one aboard this small vessel. He voyaged with the ship's captain, and two other travelers. The other men were rugged and war-torn. It was clear that they had much experience within the battlefield just as Shinon did.

One man was larger and carried a big battle axe. It was clear that he was trained as a Berserker. He wore no shirt and his body was one massive mound of solid muscle, almost as if he was chiseled from a stone. He had spikey auburn hair, an auburn beard and wore an eye patch over his right eye. Also over his right eye was a massive scar which sent the message that it held the story as to why he had wore an eye patch.

The other man was closer to Shinon's size. He had short dark blue hair that was somewhat messy, and wore light armor that was tattered and seemed to tell many stories of close combat. At both his left and right side of this man's torso, his belt held two very thin, sharp stilettos. Shinon could only assume this man to be a skilled killer, perhaps even an assassin. His blue eyes were cold and ruthless, disclosing the fact that he did not mind to shed blood at any moment.

"So is this you boys' first trip to Urian?" the large man with the battle axe made an attempt to start conversation with his fellow voyagers.

Shinon said nothing, as he had no interest in making friends with these warriors. He also didn't want to show his ignorance of this new continent he was traveling to. He had hoped that listening quietly would help him gain some knowledge of this unknown region.

"Hardly…" The blue haired man spoke as he sharpened one of his stilettos. "I was raised in that god-forsaken land. I suppose Urian is my home, if ever such a place could be identified as one. I only leave when ordered to do a job in one of the other regions, but somehow I always find myself coming back."

"I see…" the berserker nodded, "I suppose nobody would ever WANT to vacation to Urian. The majority of the continent is just one big slum, full of people killing each other to try to get ahead. It's kill or be killed there, that's for sure. Not a place for the faint of heart."

"The outer part of Urian is Hell, that's for sure…" the assassin spoke casually, "but within the mainland at the region's center isn't so bad. That's of course where all the money is because of the Emerald Empire. Once they took over they did a fine job of making sure the rich got richer and the poor got nothing but diseases and hungry stomachs."

"And then Urian went to Hell in a hand basket." The large man commented with a nod and a small smile. "Sure that made things tough for the majority of the population, but for a man like myself who finds work in the ugly times…it increased profit by tenfold!"

"A true statement indeed." The knife wielder replied, "More and more folk need stuff stolen and people killed, and those "dirtier jobs" seemed to pay up more. That's part of the reason I became what I am now…that and I'm ridiculously good at killing things."

"And what exactly are you now?" The berserker asked raising his eyebrow at the confident young warrior.

"Talon," The blue haired man stuck his hand out, "World class assassin and expert in stealth. If you need something stolen or killed, I'm your man."

"They call me Frenzy." The berserker gave Talon a hardy handshake. "You have to see me in a battle to understand why. I'm a wandering mercenary, but really that's fancy talk for just another man trying to make a living."

"So I can gather." Talon calmly spoke as he took his hand away. He then peered at Shinon and spoke. "What's your story, Red?"

"My story…" Shinon spoke, half buzzed from his drink. "Is none of your business. And to be fair, I'd rather you not bore me with your stories, if you could be so kind. This ale is starting to have its effects on me, and a nice nap is starting to sound real good."

Frenzy stood up and peered at the horizon as the three men ended the conversation. After a long pause and thought, Frenzy spoke again.

"Well, you're going to have to wait on that nap it seems. I see another ship not too far from here."

"Do you think it's possible someone else had the idea of sailing to Urian from Tellius today?" Shinon spat sarcastically at Frenzy.

The man gave him a rude glare and spoke. "Boy, obviously you are fresh meat here in Urian. I'd guess this your first time to this region, otherwise you'd know that it's rare for ANYONE to sail around the Urian region unless of course they're…"

"PIRATES!" The ship's captain yelled from the helm. Before he could instruct his travelers as to what he wanted to do, an arrow soared from the upcoming pirate ship into his chest. The captain fell off the boat and into the water as his blood stained the ocean red.

Talon cursed as he jumped up and grabbed the boat's wheel and began navigating it. He yelled out to Frenzy. "Looks like we're going to have to get our hands a little dirty here, you up for showing me why they call you Frenzy?"

"With pleasure." The berserker withdrew his axe and his eyes began to shine with bloodlust. He then turned to Shinon and spoke. "By the looks of your bow, I'd say you're a pretty skilled sniper, yes? I could use some cover fire as I go on there and take care of those pirates. I just hope you're skills with a bow aren't as ignorant as your knowledge of this area, Red."

"The name's Shinon." The sniper stood up, strapped on his quiver, and readied his long bow. "And don't worry about my skills with a bow. You may find that by the time I'm done with those sea buffoons you won't have anything to chop with your big axe."

"Welcome to Urian, boys." Talon said with a smirk, "24/7 invasions, ambushes, and basically constant blood bathes wherever you go. Even on the high seas Death finds ways to bring her people home."

"Steer us closer to the ship so me and the archer can board and bring the fight to them." Frenzy ordered, "I'll have more room to stretch my legs a bit on their vessel than on ours."

Talon nodded as he navigated their small boat closer to the pirate ship, which had black sails. As soon as they were close enough Shinon hopped onto the boat, climbed to the top of the nearest pillar, threw the scout off into the water who was previously there, and began opening fire on opposing pirates who aimed to kill the intruder. The ship had at least twenty pirates aboard. As they raced to the pillar that held Shinon, he picked them off one by one. Sounds of screaming and bodies hitting the floor got the attention of more pirates that rushed through the doors from the lower deck to join the commotion. Now there was forty scoundrels on deck all intent on killing Shinon.

As the archer kept the pirates at bay, Frenzy leapt on board and began swinging his massive axe, killing multiple pirates in each swing. It was clear that these were amateur thugs that knew nothing about the art of battle, as they rushed towards the Berserker with their rusty weapons of various sorts.

As Shinon effortlessly picked off the scoundrels as if they were birds in the sky, he began to understand why this man was called Frenzy. Nobody that came remotely close to the axe wielder remained alive or in one piece. The man had an incredibly sharp axe, practically inhumane strength, and amazing skills. Shinon had seen many warriors with similar fighting styles, and even the war torn sniper had to tip the preverbal hat to this warrior.

Within a matter of minutes, all the pirates were dead, and Frenzy was covered in their blood. He breathed heavily and frantically as the mercenary worked hard to calm down and get over the rush of battle. It was then, that Shinon saw something he didn't expect. Just as Frenzy put his axe back on his back, a sharp Stiletto went through his stomach and hit the heart, as another knife cut his throat. The large man fell face first on the ground and died in his own blood without fully comprehending what had happened. Shinon gazed upon his sneaky killer, Talon the assassin. Shinon raised his bow and pointed an arrow at the skilled knave, wondering if the blue haired man intended on trying to kill Shinon next.

"Oh come on!" Talon said, with his same malicious smile. "You can't tell me you're not even a little impressed with this? Well, some outsider like you wouldn't be. Let me break it down for you…Frenzy is legend in Urian as an amazing warlord. He has shifted the momentum of entire wars before just by going into battles and killing all the enemies...So naturally, the Emerald Empire hired me to kill him. No assassin has ever gotten close to the man because one swing from his axe and you're dead. I had to plan this entire ambush! First I had to stalk him for a long time to wait for the perfect opportunity, because anything less would have ended with me in my own blood, rather than him in his. Then this moment happened, where he sailed to Crimea briefly to pick up a new job and so I contacted a few pirates and told them that royal noble was sailing to Urian at this exact time….so then they tried to kill us, and I used the thugs as a distraction to sneak up and kill Frenzy, one of the greatest warriors of this age! Such a feat like this deserves at least a round of applause I would think…"

"And to think…" Shinon spoke with annoyance in his voice. "If I had just taken my first shot when I had it, I could have spared myself of the world's most boring tale of how you completed your assassination."

Talon's eyes went from light humored back to his cold blooded killer mode. He held his daggers down and spoke as he dropped them. "Ease up, Red…I give up!"

Unfortunately, consistent to Talon's style of being much less than honest, his left dagger sliced a fuse as it dropped to the ground. Shinon watched as the spark raced towards near where the pillar he stood was located. The archer quickly looked down to notice many barrels of gunpowder used for the ship's massive cannons. Shinon cursed as he jumped just in time to evade massive impact from the explosion. He had to confess, that Talon was indeed very skilled.

Shinon hit the ground and dropped his bow. He grunted as he slowly raised to his feet. He looked up at Talon who now stood on the very edge of the ship about to jump back onto the smaller boat. He gave a witty smile as he spoke to Shinon.

"Welcome to Urian, Red. Rule number 1, don't trust anybody here. We're all just a bunch of cold blooded killers, stick around long enough and you may even become one of us…if you don't get killed first!"

Upon speaking that line Talon leapt off the ship and onto the smaller boat and set course away from Shinon. The archer quickly grabbed his long bow and some arrows to rush and fire at the escaping assassin. He stopped once he reached the side of the pirate ship as he realized that Talon had then leapt from the smaller boat into the water. It seemed he intended to swim the short distance left to Urian.

"That clever little scoundrel..." Shinon spoke as he was impressed by the skills of Talon, but very discouraged by the fact that _he_ was bested by the assassin. "If this is the caliber of warriors that I find in this Urian region, then I think it will feel more like home then I thought!"

Shinon turned back to Frenzy's bloodied lifeless corpse. He first emptied the man's pocket taking any gold he could find and set aside any item, such as his massive axe, that could be used to profit in the nearest town. Shinon thought back to all the times he'd done such things as looting a corpse in the Greil Mercenaries only to hear Ike or Titania scold him. He cracked a smile as he tossed Frenzy's body overboard…the days of self-righteous lectures from lesser individuals were over.

As he heaved Frenzy's corpse off the ship he spoke softly to nobody in particular. "Thank you Frenzy, you may have died in a very dishonorable way…but if will bring me very good fortune in the next town I visit. You were less repulsive to me than most other axe wielding buffoons. Enjoy your watery grave!"


	3. The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

**A Note From the Author: **_Here it is ladies and gentlemen! Chapter 2 of the Crimson Mercenaries! I had so much positive feedback and help via reviews from the last chapter and I wanted to take a moment and thank Gunlord500, Archsage12, shadowrider76, and ShiverInTheLight for taking time to drop their reviews and thoughts...it meant a lot! _

_ALSO, a word of disclaimer: You all know that I do not own Fire Emblem, otherwise we'd be playing the Fire Emblem: Crimson Mercenaries game, not reading it in Fanfiction...The plot and many of the characters are original (Shinon, of course isn't.) I also want to note that a major character that is introduced into this story, Scarlen, is not original either...he was given to me by Archsage12. I do take OC's and would welcome yours, please observe later in this chapter the beautiful description of Scarlen...I only rephrased it, the content came from Archsage :)_

_I wanted to give credit where it's due, but enough blabbering from me...enjoy chapter 2!_

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**Chapter 2**

**The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time**

Shinon navigated his new pirate ship into the port of a small village that he had never been before in the Urian region. The Crimson Archer looked out at the terrain as his medium sized vessel was pulled into the port by the dock men. The area Shinon had entered was very desolate and there was barely any vegetation. The village was made up of manly mud brick houses that were poorly constructed and all but falling apart. The people were dirty, poor, and appeared as if ate at the most once a week. Shinon sighed heavily as wandered around the slums trying to find a good bar or tavern. It was the archer's experience that typically in such meager towns, the taverns often contained less than decent brews. The red pony tailed man had on him his quiver, his long bow, and he hauled a large item in a tan sack over his shoulders.

Shinon wandered the poor streets with his sack until he found a shack of a tavern barely standing on its next to a pitiful excuse of a monument that appeared to be the town square. The square was made up of several black rocks that were placed together in shape and contained water. The archer smiled to himself as he saw the square with many people wandering about in the village's center. It was time for the mercenary to put his master plan of finding well paid employment into action. Shinon jumped onto the black stones and began speaking very loudly.

"Listen up all you people!" Shinon yelled at the top of his lungs, and everyone wandering around stopped to look at the strange man in different clothes as he spoke to them. People even exited buildings to hear this wanderer who had the guts to begin yelling in the middle of the town. "My name is Shinon, and I am a mercenary for hire! This is a new land to me, I have traveled here all the way from the distant continent, Tellius, so I can understand if none of you know my great name and many legendary feats. With that said, you poor and insignificant people should know that I am the greatest sniper that has ever existed on this pitiful world. Perhaps many of you have heard of the warlord of legend, Frenzy the Berserker. From what I've heard, there are many great stories about this fearsome warrior and his destructive ability with his great axe. Well, I'm here to tell you that from now on, any story you hear of this great warrior will have predated this moment today. For earlier today on my way to the Urian region I took it upon myself to kill the great Frenzy! I tell that you not to brag…well, actually I am bragging a bit because well, look at me! But more importantly, to inform the highest paying employer that I am ready to be hired for even the most dangerous task out there. My name is Shinon, the Crimson Archer…and I have come to this god forsaken mud-hole as a mercenary for hire!"

"How do we know you really killed the warrior of legend, Frenzy?" A townsperson spoke out looking at Shinon questionably. "I mean anyone can get up there and say that…you could be just some guy. Have you no proof of such an impressive feat?"

"Proof?" Shinon said with a wry smile, "You want proof? Perhaps this will work!"

The archer threw his brown sack down and withdrew out of it the large and powerful axe that Frenzy had once carried. It certainly was a legendary weapon made from expert blacksmiths and not an axe that many warriors could wield. The crowd gasped in astonishment as they laid eyes on the axe of legend. Any doubt that lingered about Shinon having actually killed Frenzy now faded away completely. Of course, the Crimson Archer had no care in the world about the slight fact that he wasn't actually the one who killed the impressive warrior. As long as this slight detour from the truth landed Shinon a high paying job, he'd be satisfied.

"On a completely related note," Shinon spoke with a greedy smirk. "I am selling this large magnificent axe to the highest bidder. I don't intend to leave this village with it, so please make your offers now."

Before anyone had the time to make an offer, the villagers were quieted by the sounds of rumblings from down the road. Shinon had no idea what was going on, but all the townsfolk looked at each other nervously and began to rush back to their homes or inside any building they could access to. Shinon unsure of what was going on, stood outside slightly dumbfounded. Down the road from where he was standing he saw a cloud of dust as he heard horseshoes rushing towards him. As the commotion came closer, the archer noticed that the horses were chasing a man who was doing well to run slightly faster than the horses!

As the man and cavalry approached, Shinon was able to take a better look at this individual. He seemed around twenty-four years old was almost 6 feet tall, slender and well-built. He had slightly unkempt black hair that reached a little past his shoulders with bangs that parted on the left and hung a little in front of his right eye. His eyes were a very unique dark purple tint that definitely set him apart from most men that Shinon saw. With his eagle eyes Shinon noticed that the man had tan skin and bore a scar that reached from the left side of his neck to the middle of his left cheek.

His clothing was very traditional to a Swordmaster. The black haired man was garbed in a blue long-sleeved tunic that reached to around the knees, but has slits in the sides from the waist to the bottom. He wore a shoulder guard on the right shoulder and an arm guard and bandages on the left arm along with a few belts around his waist. He wore beige, slightly loose-fitting pants and brown boots that reached up a good 4 inches above the ankles. Finally Shinon noticed the finely crafted long sword strapped to the man's waist held in by a white sash.

Shinon then noticed the small platoon of cavalry and soldiers all wearing bright green armor following the man, there was about thirty of them. Shinon whirled around and jumped high to reach the top of the town square, which had about three levels of black stones to it. He did this for a couple of reasons, it was the highest ground that he could reach, and everyone knew the importance of having high grounds as a sniper. Also, Shinon did this to try to send the message that really had no interest in participating in whatever affair this may be.

The Swordmaster ran to the town square near Shinon, and paused to take a few breathes frantically as he looked at the Sniper who barely showed him any concern. In between breathes, the Swordmaster spoke to Shinon. "It's been…one of those…days."

Shinon paid him no attention, as he was not looking to get involved in whatever problem this man had created. As the horsemen and soldiers caught up, Shinon noticed that one of the armored men in the front was a General and seemed to be a much higher rank then the other soldiers. He clearly was the leader. His armor was emerald green like the others, but he carried one massive sword with his right hand and one giant axe with his left. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and a rugged bead. It was obvious that this general had seen many battles in his time and was not a warrior to be taken lightly.

"Running will get you nowhere, boy!" The gruff rugged man's deep voice bellowed as he spoke to the Swordmaster. "Scarlen, you are under arrest for aiding rebel troops and setting free convicted criminals who were deemed Enemies of the Emerald Empire. Due to such actions, you are now considered an Enemy of the Empire and will be sentenced to death upon reaching the Emerald Capital. We have followed you to this pathetic village to make you sure make it to Talistar, our capital, without any more…complications."

"I was just doing my job." Scarlen tried to explain, knowing full well there would be no way he could talk his way out of this one. "Would it make it better if I offered my services to go kill the people I helped escaped? No…probably not…there is no way of getting around this is there?"

"Amateur…" Shinon muttered as he watched the young Swordmaster prepare for battle.

"Excuse me?" Scarlen turned and gave Shinon a indignant look curious as to why this man he had never met was accusing him of being a novice. "I have you know I am a very well qualified and skilled swordsman. Besides, you don't even know me, what on earth gives you the qualifications to call me an amateur?"

"I don't have to know you to know what you're about to do." Shinon replied coldly. "Your left hand is now holding your blade, showing that you're ready to attack which leads me to believe that you're going to try to fight your way out of this situation. Everybody knows that when you're THIS outnumbered the best bet is to get thrown into prison and escape from the inside where there is probably less guards then what you're dealing with now."

"Excuse me…" The gruff general interrupted the two mercenaries. "I hate to interrupt this high spirited squabble about nothing in particular, but who do you think you are, archer?"

Shinon pointed to himself questionably to make sure that the general was in fact talking about him. The armor clad official nodded as he kept speaking authoritatively.

"Yes, you. Have you no concept of the laws of Trusdale and all the other Empire Ruled villages on the outskirts of mainland Urian? The law is very simple, when the Emerald Army enters a town you pitiful townsfolk stay in your homes so that we don't have to see you. And I believe the consequences were put quite simple so even the most ignorant fool such as yourself could understand it…let's see how was it phrased…hmm, something like…Anyone who is caught out during the time that military business is taking place will experience…what was it? Oh yes, Death!"

"Let's jump back to that part where you thought I actually lived here and was some foolish townsperson that gave a damn about your little laws in this mudhole…" Shinon spoke with his typical arrogant and rude tone, giving no regard to the military official.

"This peasant's voice bores me." The general interrupted again, as he raised his hand. "Somebody with a javelin please take care of this trash so we can move on with our business here."

Before Shinon could come up with a witty comeback to insult the General with, he noticed a javelin being thrown in his direction. With agile reflexes, the Sniper dodged to the left and in one quick motion withdrew his long bow and a steel arrow and shot it in the direction of the thrower. The soldiers were stunned within a second when the arrow hit the man's neck, one of the few spots without heavy armor protection on his body. The halberdier fell to the ground dead.

"You just killed a soldier of the Emerald Army!" The general's voice became harsh as he fumed with anger of the loss of one of his soldiers. "You're fate is just as sealed as that girlie man with the sword next to you. I don't know which of you is more foolish, the man who tried to outrun the Empire, or the other who tried to play hero."

With one finger, Scarlen began to withdraw his sword from the sheaf, his eyes burned with rage after the General's comment. As he spoke to Shinon, his voice was no longer light humored and laid back, it now was serious with murderous intent.

"It is clear that they intend on neither of us leaving here alive, so what do you say we set aside out minor differences and put some of these military fools to rest. I don't particularly like it when such meatheads like this general calls me such horrid names and I would now very much like to slash his throat with my sword. Seeing how you're just as dead to them as me, what do you say we team up?"

Shinon smiled at the thought of a fine battle as he readied his bow. "As long as you ditch such fancy words like horrid I think you got yourself a deal…Do you have you a plan, swordboy?"

"I protect you, you protect me." Scarlen said as he fully withdrew his blade, "I'll keep them off the square, and you keep them from killing me…sound fair?"

"For now I can agree with that." Shinon said with a smile as he started to shoot arrows towards the soldiers who were now rushing towards Scarlen.

Scarlen began dodging spears and axes as he started to send lethal cuts towards the soldiers. The general gave the order for the mounted units to rush in as well, but Shinon's swift arrows took care of them with ease. Townsfolk watched from within their homes as the two expert mercenaries slaughtered the men with ease. Thirty troops quickly became twenty, and then twenty overtime became ten. Blood spilled all over the town square as Scarlen was expertly slashing his foes.

Knowing what a short and effortless battle this was for the mercenaries, the General began to back away. Had he known exactly how good Scarlen and this nameless Sniper was, he would have brought his personal army, not a bunch of new recruits and a few horses. The general lashed out with threats right before he gave the orders for he and his remaining five units to retreat.

"You fools don't know what you have done. You will forever regret this day knowing that today, the day that you crossed General Riker and the Emerald Army was the exact moment in time where your imamate destiny of cruel and unusual punishment by our hands had been sealed. This is far from over, you filthy sellswords. Next time we meet, I will personally see to it that you all are bathed in your own blood!"

"There won't be a next time." Shinon said as he aimed his bow at the perfect spot to kill General Riker.

Unfortunately, the General always kept a few dirty tricks up his sleeve. While the sniper aimed, Riker quickly pulled a mine from his armor and tossed it out onto the ground near Scarlen and Shinon. The large man then, with one hand, tossed one of his knights off their horse and onto the bomb. Scarlen leapt swiftly and tackled Shinon before he could make his perfect shot. Even though the Swordmaster caused the Sniper to miss, he had saved his life from the small explosion. When the two men recovered from the near death experience, Shinon threw Scarlen off of him and got up and began walking to the tavern.

"What are you doing?" Scarlen asked.

"Going to get a drink, what's it look like?" Shinon sneered back, annoyed still that the man had made him miss his shot.

"Don't you think we should leave this town before it's crawling with Empire troops? I don't know about you, but I rather live through this whole ordeal."

"You keep talking to me before I get brew into my system, and I promise it's not an Empire arrow that will be killing you." Shinon kept walking into the tavern as he spoke.

"Wait…" Scarlen was baffled at the lack of concern Shinon seemed to be showing. He quickly rushed into the tavern after the sniper "I don't think you understand the magnitude of this situation. The Emerald Empire isn't known for its forgiveness and mercy, but rather its quick retaliation...This isn't over!"


	4. The Man Who Killed a Legend

**A Word from the Author: **_Phew, I had massive inspiration today for writing this story so that's why I am able to put out two chapters in one day...this is not a usual thing for me people! Anyway, thanks SO MUCH for everyone who dropped me a review on Chapter 2**: ShiverInTheLight, ArchSage12, ShadowRider97, McTankerson** ...you guys rock! Reviews are so much fun to get and can help me be a better writer!_

_Now, for a few disclaimers. I don't own Fire Emblem or Shinon, but this is a fanfiction with an original plot, OC's, and an original continent. With that said, there are a few major character's that I don't own. **Scarlen belongs to** **ArchSage12** and a new character we meet in this chapter,** Barbara belongs to** **McTankerson**. As always, I accept OC's if you like to send them my way. _

_Enough blabbering from me, here is Chapter 3, I hope you enjoy it!_

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**Chapter 3**

**The Man Who Killed a Legend**

Shinon entered the beat up and rugged tavern and made his way slowly to the bar. He plopped down at the table and yelled out to the barkeep, "Give me the strongest stuff you got back there!"

Within a matter of moments, the bartender came to Shinon with a mug full of a green foamy brew that Shinon thought tasted like horse urine as it went down. Oddly, thanks to its very potent alcohol level, the archer didn't mind its ugly taste. The bartender was very impressed at how quickly Shinon was able to guzzle the drink, and attempted to start casual small talk with the warrior as he refilled the Crimson Archer's drink. Shinon simply took his mug with one hand and shooed the bartender off with the other, signaling to the man that he was not in the mood to chat at all.

The red pony tailed man had to get his head on straight. He considered his current predicament. He hadn't been in Urian for a single day yet, and he already become an enemy of the continent's predominate reigning power, the Emerald Empire.

"_That has to be a new record somewhere." _Shinon thought to himself as he considered this fact.

The archer considered getting back into his new ship and sailing right back to Tellius to avoid any more run ins with this potentially dangerous force. Perhaps it was Shinon's typical apathetic attitude, or the amount of brew that was now entering his stream, but as he thought about the danger he found himself in, the Sniper finally just sighed deeply, and shrugged his worry off. He didn't like the idea of going back to Tellius where he was known all over as one of the "Greil Mercenaries" or one of "Ike's men. No, he had come to Urian to make a name for himself…and if that name had to start with being one of Urian's most wanted public enemies, well, everyone has to start somewhere.

Shinon's reflective drink was interrupted by a very large knight clad in dirty grey armor plopping down in the seat right next to his, despite the fact that there were numerous open seats located elsewhere. Shinon almost gagged as the horrible smell of this knight consumed his nose. The person was tall, a few inches over six foot, and very bulky. Shinon found himself gagging as the knight ordered the exact same drink that Shinon received.

"If they have bathes in this hellhole of a continent you clearly haven't discovered them yet." Shinon murmured to himself as he worked hard to breathe as little as possible.

"I guess I do smell a little bit after that tussle I had with seven bandits on a farm not too far from here." The knight spoke as she removed her grey beaten helmet. "I tell you what, I don't know how those things usually end with me and a few others being thrown into piles of manure…but I find that wimpy boys like most them bandits around here fight worse when they're all smelly…it's a good distraction."

"Oh my god you're a woman?" Shinon gagged as he looked at this homely with braided green shoulder length hair and a very homely face. "I hope for my own sake that _this_ is not how typical females in the Urian region appear…otherwise I refuse to stay here!"

"You know you have quite a crass and tactless way of just saying the meanest thing here, friend." The knight spoke, somewhat offended by Shinon's rude comment. "But I would expect nothing less from the man that has the balls to kill the legendary Berserker, Frenzy. I heard you outside a while ago, and I gotta be truthful, at first I thought you were just some drunk spinning tales. And then I saw how you and that pretty boy roughed up those Emerald Army piss offs, and I was a believer. The name's Barbara…and so help me, if you call me Barbarian I will break your face. Now, how about me and you get to talking about some more personal stuff, short stuff?"

"Definitely not interested…" Shinon jumped out of his stool, fighting the urge to throw up from Barbara's odd innuendo and odor. He moved away with the hopes of finding the furthest possible seat.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Barbara muttered as she raised her glass and spoke louder. "Let's hear it for Shinon, the crass bloke that was able to kill the great warrior of legend Frenzy! Back in his prime, Frenzy may have been a constant pain in the ass to the Emerald Empire…But nowadays, he just was paid by the rich to kill off our best mercenaries and burn the little towns that had the guts to stand up and say no to joining those damned Emeralds. I for one am glad that the crazy bastard is dead!"

"Here here!" A random person on the other side of the room raised his class and cheered.

Shinon gave an arrogant smirk as the room applauded and cheered for him for quite some time. Now _this_ was the respect and honor he craved for, and to think…he was getting it for something he didn't even do! Life couldn't get any better than this.

Shinon's joy was cut short as the applause died down with the exception of one lone person slowly clapping. Everyone's eyes turned to the person who sat at one of the room's corners as he continued to clap. Shinon recognized the messy short blue hair, tattered armor, and cold heartless look. Shinon let out a soft curse as he gazed upon Talon, the _real _killer of Frenzy.

"What a feat…" Talon spoke as he continued to fake clap, "What a feat indeed! Please, I think I speak for everyone in the room when I say, I want to hear the heroic tale of how you overcame such a foe! Please, do tell Master Shinon!"

Shinon became enraged at the cocky assassin's sarcastic wit, and rushed over to his table and swiftly punched the blue haired man in the face. There was much murmuring within the room as Talon simply rubbed his face in the spot where Shinon had punched. He spat a tiny amount of blood as he spoke.

"Fine, no story for me I guess."

"You almost killed me with that damn explosion back on the pirate ship, you cheap little punk!" Shinon gritted his teeth at Talon.

"What can I say," Talon shrugged showing his continually arrogant demeanor, "I had to escape and I figured it'd be a good idea to avoid being shot by an arrow from your bow…I thought it was rather merciful of me seeing how I could have killed you at any moment from the time you boarded that boat to the time I jumped off of it. Guess you're not the type to say thank you though, so I won't hold my breath."

"How'd you get back onto land so quickly anyway?" Shinon asked, "What, are you going to try to try to kill me now? Is that it?"

"Please!" Talon said with a chuckle, "If I wanted you dead now, Red, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Don't worry your pretty little head there, I only kill people that matter. As for how I got back on land so quickly, I must confess that I'm a rather fast swimmer…well, that and I may have conned myself aboard a ship and temporarily "borrowed" it to make my way back to shore…you'd be impressed too, it's a nice one! I ended up selling it for quite some gold, probably about the same you'd get for that nice axe of the man that _you_ killed."

"I don't particularly like your tone." Shinon glared at Talon, detesting every essence in the sleaze ball and simultaneously respecting him for his cunning and skill. "You think you're better than me, and the fact is that you couldn't be further from the truth. I know what you're trying to do." Shinon leaned in and whispered to Talon, "You're trying to get me to admit the truth behind the death of Frenzy, aren't you?"

Talon shrugged as he spoke with his casual light humor but somewhat sadistic style, "Let's not get to carried away over the technicalities of who killed who…I'm more concerned about that minor detail of whether I'm better then you or not….now that I think of it, you did just punch me in the face…"

Before Shinon could react, Talon kicked the table he was leaning his feet on very hard and it slammed into Shinon's stomach. He then jumped on top of the table and did a spinning roundhouse kick to Shinon's face, sending him flying to the hard wooden ground. Before Shinon could leap up, the assassin had his leather boot up against the Sniper's neck and a stiletto pointed at his nose.

"I don't like being punched." Talon's voice had shifted to his cold, serious, and emotionless tone that was depraved of any humor or fun. "I don't much care that you took the credit for killing Frenzy, that was never a concern of mine. I believe you'll find that the reputation of being Frenzy's killer will bring quite some many consequences. Sure as a mercenary new to the Urian region, the reputation of being a Legend Killer will get some ignorant buffoon like yourself some work, but I stalked that man for weeks trying to find the perfect moment to kill him and I can tell you that Frenzy the Berserker had many strong allies that will not enjoy the fact that their good war buddy is dead…so you may end up hating the fact that you took credit for _my _kill…but hey who's counting? Now, I am officially off the clock until I get my next assignment. I don't like killing things when I'm off the clock because I don't tend to mix business and pleasure…I came to this tavern not to search for your skinny white ass, but to enjoy a nice drink. I'm going to go back to my table and enjoy my nice drink, and if you could be so kind as to not smack me in the face again, I think I may let you live, sound fair Red?"

With those threatening words, Talon leapt off Shinon's neck and sat back down at his table quietly. The archer considered jumping up and attacking the assassin again, since he had fallen yet again to another one of Talon's cheap tricks, but decided against it. He had no quarrel with this blue haired man, except for the fact that he was an arrogant jerk who took advantage of whatever situation he found himself in. The more Shinon thought about it, he found some great similarities with this cruel and heartless man. The archer slowly rose to his feet and took a deep breath. As he began to sit down at another table, Scarlen the Swordmaster Shinon had met in the town square earlier rushed into the tavern and ran towards Shinon.

"Listen, my friend…" Scarlen ran over to Shinon and began his rant. "I don't believe it's safe for us to still be in this town. There's another village not too far from here and I intend to…"

"I'm not your friend…" Shinon interrupted the Swordmaster.

"What?" Scarlen asked, not tracking the archer's train of conversation.

"You called me your friend, and I'm not your friend." Shinon said with a cocky smile and sarcastic voice, "If I was, then you'd know I don't listen well. I also never run from lesser men. The Emerald Army or whatever is just going to have to get over the fact that I pissed off one of their generals. Sure, they may try to send out a few dogs to get me, but they'll give up eventually after I kill every person that tries to bring me in for execution."

The two men's conversation was cut short as a short plump man waddled over to Shinon's table. He seemed very reserved and slightly nervous as he spoke.

"Excuse me." The man said, "I have need of your services..."

"And I have need of money…get to the point." Shinon examined the slightly well-dressed fat balding man and recognized a potential employer when he saw one.

"Well, I haven't been able to find good help for this job for quite some time…" The man stuttered, "But you see…I'm the mayor of Trusdale, and the Emerald Army has taken many of our youth…most recently my son….to their training camps to force them to serve as slaves to work in the mines. Most people around these parts aren't skilled enough to break into an Emerald Empire run mining camp…surely if a man can take on thirty soldiers and defeat the great Frenzy of lore…then this shouldn't be a daunting task at all."

"I could do it with my eyes closed and an arm chopped off." Shinon said as he crossed his arms and looked into the worried man's eyes. "But back to the question I originally hinted to...how much money are we talking?"

"Well, we've been saving a small fortune for years now to invest upgrade many of Trusdale's living quarters." The mayor replied sadly, as he considered the consequences of what he was about to do. "But for my son, I'd give anything….I'll pay you the money that we would use to build more houses. You're looking at roughly 150,000 gold."

"150,000 gold to buy houses?" Shinon laughed at the small amount. "Why back in Crimea that would get you a…Oh yeah, this is the slums and all."

The archer thought carefully over the offer. He imagined that in this small mud hole of a town, 150,000 would be the best offer he'd see. Finally Shinon hit the table and pointed to the mayor as he spoke.

"You got yourself a deal! Give me a week and I'll have your son and all the rest of this village's kids back here safe and sound…you just don't spend that money!"

"Oh thank you so much!" The mayor had a cheerful look of hope and relief as he clasped Shinon's hand. The archer quickly pulled his hand back in repulsion. "You have given this old man much to pray and look forward to!"

"Whatever, you got your yes now please get out of my sight so I can get to work." Shinon shooed the mayor away from him and turned his attention back to Scarlen. He spoke again, "Why are you still here? I told you that I am not running off to some other desert town with you. If you left before that man started his sob story, you'd probably be halfway there by now!"

"So let me see if I understand things clearly…" Scarlen flipped his hair in a less then manly way as he reflected on Shinon's current course of action. "You just became a wanted man by the Emerald Army and instead of laying low to avoid further complications with the law…you just accepted a job to run into the pit of an Empire Mine which is going AGAINST the army to free a bunch of slaves…and just for kicks, I'm completely leaving out the part where you accept the mayor's life savings and fortune that he was going to use to make this town even half livable."

"Sounds about right." Shinon said with a shrug.

"Ah, but your face is showing your hand." Scarlen said as he peered into Shinon's eyes. "Where is this Slave Mine anyway?"

"Well…" Shinon stammered a bit.

"And once you get there, how would one man get in to save a whole crew of children?"

"I'm still working on the details but…"

"And should the Army appear to stop you, how would you live to tell the tale?"

Shinon was annoyed by Scarlen's uppity and proper tone, but the Swordmaster brought up great points. The archer hit his fist against the table as he looked around the room, trying to think of a solution to his problem. The Sniper's eyes then fell upon Talon the assassin, who was still enjoying his drink. Shinon cursed as he realized what he needed to do. The archer got up and sat down at Talon's table, across from him.

"If you are going to punch me again, you'd best make sure I don't get up." Talon spoke without even looking at Shinon.

"I…" Shinon struggled to get out what he was going to have to say to make this job a successful one. "I am in need of your assistance for a job. It'd be good money, and I know we would work well together."

"Really?" Talon raised an eye brow. The prospect of "good money" was always enough to keep him interested.

"It's a rescue operation within some Emerald Army Slave Mine…or something." Shinon spoke, still unsure what he was talking about. "I don't know, something about saving kids that this Emerald Empire that seems to run this continent has taken and made work in slave camps somewhere around here. I figured a man such as yourself may have better bearings of Urian then I do…and like I said, it's good money."

"What does an outsider such as yourself constitute as good money, Red?"

"The employer offered me 60,000 Gold." Shinon lied, "And seeing how I'm asking for your help, I'd be willing to split it 60/40 with you, and give you the bigger share…That's not an offer I make often."

"It is very unwise to lie about money to an assassin." Talon spoke calmly as he took another drink of his beer. "I distinctively remember hearing the fine mayor offer you 150,000 Gold when I was eavesdropping on your little pow wow at that table over there."

Shinon rolled his eyes. He _hated_ how good Talon was at what he did. With that said, it was Talon's skills that was precisely what Shinon required.

"Here's the way I see it." Talon placed his mug down as he moved closer to Shinon and spoke softly. "You're not an idiot, I'll give you that. We both know you don't know a damn thing about this continent and that's why you need me. But if that was just it, you'd ask your little pretty boy lover friend over there with the girl name to lend you a hand, BUT we both also know you didn't single handedly kill Frenzy too. That makes us two the only people in this Tavern, nay, on this entire continent that know that you're not as legendary as everyone else thinks you are. Therefore, while everyone else thinks that Shinon the Crimson Archer can run into a heavily guarded slave mine and free all the children while single handedly killing the Emerald Armed Forces, the two of us know the reality…that you're just as human as all of us…and that's why you swallowed your enormous pride to come have this little chat with good ole Mr. Talon.

So here's what I'm going to do. We'll still be splitting the profit 60/40, as I liked that idea, AND you're going to give me that pretty little axe you inherited from Frenzy. I can make a nice profit on the black market with it…and let's be honest, you don't know the right people to sell it to anyway, so that's not really a big deal at all. So how bout it, Red? Do we have ourselves a deal?"

Shinon took a moment to ponder this settlement as Talon gave a half smile and extended his hand of partnership. Shinon couldn't help but remember his first encounter with this assassin, when he backstabbed his fellow boat mate and then almost blew the archer up. Sadly, Shinon also knew that this was the only option if he at all wanted to succeed in finding the slave mine and successfully infiltrate it.

After much hesitation, Shinon extended his hand and shook the hand of the blue haired assassin. The two slowly rose to their feet and began to walk out of the tavern. Before they could go far, Barbara the enormous knight in gray armor staggered in front of Shinon and spoke. She clearly had been drinking like a fish since Shinon had left the seat beside her.

"Hey, I heard you were talking about busting through some Empire troops." The green haired smelly woman slurred her words together. "The Emerald Army are no friends of mine, I'll join you!"

"No." Shinon said as he and Talon dodged the drunk woman.

"I owe you my life from our previous encounter with the Emerald Army!" Now Scarlen moved in front of Shinon, after hearing the large drunk woman speak. "Allow me to lend my aid in this mission before we part ways!"

"Hell No." Shinon responded as he pushed Scarlen out of the way.

Scarlen's body was stopped by Talon, who pushed in the opposite direction as he spoke to Shinon. "This guy seems to be a pretty good swordsman, despite his obvious confusion of what gender he is…I say we take him, we could use a little extra power for what I got in mind."

Shinon shrugged in agreement. When it came to the Swordmaster's personality, Shinon could barely stand him for five minutes. With that said, Shinon had been very impressed with his skill with a blade, and knew that would be a valuable asset.

As the three left the tavern and began walking through the rough terrain to exit the town, the tavern double doors were thrown off as a raging Barbara came rushing out to the road, with her steel lance in hand.

"You cocky little fire ant of a man!" Barbara yelled out at Shinon, barely able to stand up straight. "I'll show you what you're missing! I said I want to go with you, and I am going to damn well come!"

The knight rushed in rage towards Shinon screaming at the top of her lungs with her spear ready to stab. The archer looked at Talon who shrugged and chuckled with enjoyment. Shinon then rolled his eyes, turned towards Barbara, and rushed towards her as well. Right when the knight attempted to stab the archer with her lance, Shinon leapt forward, put both hands on Barbara's shoulders, and used her body weight as leverage to flip her over onto the hard ground. The woman cursed loudly as she hit the ground clumsily.

Shinon walked over her body to join up with the other two warriors. He hesitated and then turned around as he spoke.

"You are by far the most repulsive and smelly woman I have ever met." Shinon said as he looked down at the recovering Barbara, "But man, can you take a hit...and I could use someone to drink with, so yeah…you can come along too!"

"That was a good hit." Talon agreed, as he nodded his head and spoke somewhat to himself.

"So where is this Slave Camp that we must infiltrate?" Scarlen asked as the four mercenaries left Trusdale to begin their journey.

"I have absolutely no idea." Talon said as he strapped his stilettos onto his waist. "But I definitely know somebody who does know, so we're going to pay him a little visit first."


End file.
